


A New Face

by Incognito_RabbitFox



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Other, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24496861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Incognito_RabbitFox/pseuds/Incognito_RabbitFox
Summary: A new face of a new species comes back through the wormhole with a Boslic crew, but she's secretive and that sets off alarms for the senior officers of Deep Space 9. What is she hiding?
Relationships: Julian Bashir & Elim Garak, Julian Bashir/Elim Garak
Kudos: 3





	1. A New Face

A Boslic trading ship returned through the wormhole to dock at DS9 on their way back, selling Gamma quadrant goods. The past weeks have held routine tensions with the Dominion and Maquis, smuggling uncovered, and another visiting Klingon ship crew attempting to brawl in Quark’s.  
But although the Boslic ship returned with mostly legal goods and had their crates destined for the black market confiscated without further issue, Commander Benjamin Sisko and Chief Security Officer Odo had an entirely unexpected mystery.  
The Boslic crew had returned with another member, a newcomer of a little known Gamma quadrant species called Leckdalians, a humanoid species who were still inhabiting only their homeworld, Leckdal. Their species did not attain space travel yet and had only reached their own moon. This first-contact was unordinary for several reasons, but that was not what perplexed the security chief and commander. This Leckdalian was obviously beaten badly some time recently, though the Boslic crew bandaged her wounds and healed her well. Her name was Maridna and she refused to allow Dr. Bashir to give her further medical attention. She had two pairs of clothes which the Boslic crew had given her and a camera with which she took many pictures of herself and her new crewmates.   
When the ship was scanned and an unknown lifeform was detected and explained, the Boslic captain said that his new hand was a private individual and if he hears that DS9 officers were harassing her on account of her being a new species, then he would have a few words with his own higher ups about all Boslic ships in this quadrant cutting off business with Federation and Bajoran stations.  
This was a steep warning for a brand-new crew member and as a reply to an invitation to a dinner and it raised red flags for the commander and constable. The invitation was accepted by Maridna and her captain, after the warning was given.   
“Perhaps she is just a private person. Being alone in a new quadrant must be daunting,” Major Kira said. The operations officers were gathered in the sick bay with Dr. Bashir, after Maridna strongly refused his care.  
“My instinct say she’s got something to hide. She’s joined a band of smugglers to come here and doesn’t want medical attention?” Odo began grumbling, but was cut off by Dr. Bashir cutting in,  
“When I offered to heal her, I had the medical tricorder already doing preliminary scans,” Julian stopped when he made eye contact with a perturbed Sisko, “I had it already going out of excitement. I was going to be the first federation doctor to examine this species!” was his excuse. He cleared his throat and continued, “Several of her ribs are fractured and my tricorder was reading extensive damage to her head, but I stopped as soon as she backed away. She must be in pain, even with her crewmates’ care. Why would she refuse more medical treatment if she accepted theirs?”  
“When I searched their cargo, the Boslics were not bothered when my team confiscated their hidden goods. Usually, there is at least grumbling. There is more to this story and I believe there’s a criminal element to it all,” Odo continued.  
“She could be part of the Dominion,” Worf stated briskly.  
“For now, O’Brien, I want you to delay the maintenance on their ship. Find a good reason,” Sisko decided.  
“Yes, Sir,” O’Brien agreed, “It seems their ship picked up a computer virus at one of the ports they docked at. Someone must not have liked their bargain.”  
Sisko smiled and nodded. Jadzia was looking across the promenade to Quark’s Bar during the discussion, “mm-hming” to show she was listening. She stood up suddenly from leaning on one of Julian’s tables.  
“Benjamin, Jake walked into Quark’s and he’s going towards the Boslic table.”  
All the officers turned to see for themselves, that indeed the teenager was energetically approaching the crew.


	2. A New Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maridna and her crew-mates meet Jake Sisko and he gets ready to show her darts. Quark notices that something's up.

Maridna’s crew-mates brought her with them onto the promenade to eat at Quark’s. They sat at a table together and a waiter, who they told her was Ferengi, took their orders. She brought the camera they had shown her on the way back in the Gamma Quadrant, eventually giving it to her when they saw how happy she was to capture memories of them all, to continue taking pictures.  
“The holosuites upstairs, Maridna, I can show you what a geyser looks like!” her friend sitting next to her exclaimed, when he remembered that he wanted to tell her about it. Jerphis jerked his thumb above them on the balcony where the holosuite doors were.  
“That’s the next thing we’ll do, but first I want to eat some gagh! It sounds delicious!” was Maridna’s happy reply. The replicated food was brought back to their table with their drinks by the waiter. The bar was loud and semi-crowded, but the Boslic table was quiet as they all ate their food.  
“Hi, my name is Jake and I live here. Can I join you?” was said loudly close to their table to be heard over the background noise. The crew looked up at a young Terran who was smiling with his arms at his sides. He didn’t look particularly interesting except that for Maridna, this was the first Terran she spoke to. Her crew-mates shrugged and deferred the decision to her. They were in a good mood and were fine with this Jake joining them if she was.  
“Yes, go ahead. Will you order food?” Maridna said and motioned bring an empty chair to their table.  
“I’ll have a drink, but I’m eating dinner with my dad later. You’re a Boslic crew, right? Do you play dom-jot?” Jake asked.  
“We do, but haven’t had a chance to teach our newest crew-member,” the Bolsic on the other side of Maridna answered.  
“Would you want to now? I love playing and I’m actually quite good at it,” Jake said excitedly.  
“We’re going to use a holosuite to see a geyser after we eat, actually,” Maridna spoke up. Jake looked disappointed, but he started smiling again and quietly enjoyed sitting at the table with new people. He looked around the bar and spotted the dart board on the wall.  
“I just thought, there’s a short game that we don’t even have to play a full game of! The target over there is for darts and I know where Quark keeps them! It’s easy enough to try and you can still enjoy the holosuites together,” Jake suggested with his fingers crossed. Maridna looked to her crew-mates with a wide smile. She started nodding and mouthed “yes” over and over again.  
“It’s a good, short game and it’s next to us,” Jerphis said.  
“THEN YES!” Maridna shouted and stood up, “Get the derts, Jake!”  
“D-arts is the word. It’s kinda loud in here,” Jake corrected politely as he got up, finished off his root beer, and went behind the counter to get them.

“Jake! What are you up to back here?” Quark demanded to know when he returned and saw the teenager near the latinum.  
“I’m getting the darts is all,” Jake answered.  
“Isn’t Nog on duty now?” Quark asked.  
“Yeah, but I’m playing with the Boslic crew, they’re pretty nice.”  
“That they are, but there’s some crews that aren’t, so don’t assume all of them are, okay?” Quark advised, looking at the table, “Wait, what’s that middle one without forehead ridges?”  
“Oh, I’m not sure, but she’s part of their crew,” Jake said and returned to her with the darts. Quark racked his brain going through all the species he knew of, but none of them looked like her. He felt eyes watching him and turned to see that, indeed, Odo was watching his bar, but oddly all of the senior officers were in the infirmary staring across the promenade.  
“Oh, what is it now?” he grumbled and rushed towards them before any customers noticed and became uncomfortable.


	3. A New Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and the Boslic crew spend time in the bar, Quark is still not told all the information, and questions still aren't answered.

When Quark noticed the Infirmary crowd and made his way towards them, everyone in sick bay were nervous that the Boslic crew would notice them because of Quark and they quickly stopped staring and pretending not to be paying attention, some rather awkwardly, to the goings-on across the way. The doors opened, but before the Ferengi spoke, Commander Sisko shh-ed him. The doors slid shut and Sisko motioned that Quark could begin.  
“Now, WHY are you all trying to scare my customers away today!” an exasperated Quark shouted with his hands thrown in the air for emphasis.  
“What were you and Jake talking about back there?” Sisko ignored Quark’s own question.  
“He was getting darts to play with some other customers. Customers, I might add, that I don’t want you to make leave by watching them like hungry Tarkalean hawks!”  
“So he’s fine, Ben! I think letting him stay over there is more of a good move now,” Jadzia asserted. Commander Sisko held up his hand for silence. He spoke after he made his decision,  
“Quark, you watch Jake, but act like everything’s normal. We are conspicuous here. Go back to your normal duties, everyone. Odo, you can enter the bar if necessary, but avoid it. As Chief of Security you’ll scare them,” Commander Sisko rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, “I’-I’ll return to Ops.” He began to walk past Quark, turned to face him, and said, “Watch Jake for me, Quark.”  
“I will, don’t worry. The Prophets know why I am, but I will. You haven’t told me anything about what’s going on still,” Quark complained on his way back into his bar. DS9’s senior officers went back to their posts, leaving Dr. Bashir and Odo standing outside the infirmary.  
“Do you think it’s likely she’s part of the Dominion, Constable?” Julian asked quietly.  
“It is probable, Doctor,” Odo said. The security chief walked back to his office, leaving Julian to himself. Jake was helping Maridna aim better in the bar while her companions finished their drinks watching. Everyone was friendly. Julian held his breath and waited. A female Boslic left the table and was coming up behind Jake. Julian barely held back a scream to warn Jake because in barely a moment it looked like the Boslic tackled his commander’s son, but both their faces came back into view smiling. The woman’s arms were around Jake and Maridnas’ necks, pulling them into a drunken hug.  
Julien spun around and retreated into his sick bay. He just barely stopped himself from ruining everything and possibly putting Jake in real danger. Quark was in the bar, much nearer them than he was, and while Quark was a scoundrel he could be trusted to give due diligence in protecting Jake. 

Jerphis’ drinking was interrupted by the need to urinate. He patted Ryjisaa’s shoulder on his way to the bar’s bathroom, letting him know where he was going. After he was done in the bathroom he went to find Quark to confirm that the holosuite was free for them now. The owner of the bar was scolding a waiter for offering to replace a drink on the house that was knocked over by another customer. Typical Ferengi businessman.  
“Quark!” Jerphis shouted, while climbing the stairs. The waiter was sent to continue doing his job and Quark turned to face him.  
“Jerphis, are you here for the holosuite? Its ready and waiting for one of my most reliable customers.”  
“Just about, once Halessi and Maridna can take a break from the Terran,” Jerphis chuckled good naturedly.  
“Well, just take the holosuite program now, so you don’t have to ask me again a minute from now. How much latinum did you make this run?” Quark handed over the drive and asked.  
“A decent amount…” Jerphis smiled, “Okay, it was a great run this time. Makes up for last time! Captain is happy. We’ve got artisan goods to sell to rich people who want to decorate their homes like they’re explorers. It’s a shame your changeling took the hatche leaves.”  
“Odo is a bother to us all who try to live decent lives, my friend. I would have liked to buy some hatchi from you myself! Have you done so well you’re expanding your operation? I don’t recognize your new crew-member’s species,” Quark carefully asked.  
“Maridna is Leckdalian. The species just now travelled to their own moon, much less the nearest planet. She’s good muscle, you’d be surprised by how she looks, but she’s been great in tricky places. Hunters tried to skimp on our agreed pricing for the hatchi leaves. When the captain didn’t roll over, knives were pulled,” Jerphis went on talking until he caught himself and seemed to rethink telling even Quark this much, “Anyways, Maridna is Leckdalian and she’s been fun. She’s a good person.”  
The last four words Jerphis made eye contact with Quark. Quark shrugged and asked,  
“So she’s your girlfriend?”  
Jerphis belly-laughed.  
“What?! Come on, you said that last part weirdly, Jerphis!”  
“Sorry, I’m sorry, Quark. No she’s not, she’s just a good person. Your station’s bosses are very interested in meeting her. More like interrogating her. Leckdalians haven’t been contacted by the Federation yet and she’s the first one here. The only one here. She came with us because she knew the universe had more in store for her, but she’s still out here, alone. Nothing compares to being the only one from your planet to travel into the stars,” Jerphis explained, “Does that answer your question?”  
“Yeah, it’s been nice chatting with you, Jerphis.”  
“Alright, I’m going to go back down and see if they’re all set to see the geyser,” Jerphis said with a smile. Down the stairs, Maridna and Halessi were still playing darts with the Terran. He seems like a good kid, Jerphis decided.   
“Ryj, are you ready to see the geyser?” Jerphis asked his cousin, who was staring at the bottom of his glass.  
“Yeah, let’s go see it,” Ryjisaa muttered.  
“Hey, Hal and Mari, let’s use the holosuite!” Jerphis shouted over the noise.

Jake turned around disappointed when he heard the other Boslic call for them to leave. Darts were handed back to him by his two competitors, though it wasn’t a serious game.  
“Thank you for playing d-arts with us, Jake,” Maridna smiled, “I’m so glad we let you sit down with us! Can I take a picture of us? I want to remember this. This is the first station we’ve docked outside the wormhole and you’re the first Terran I’ve met. I want to remember how great this is!”  
“Of course! Let’s do that!” Jake agreed and posed for the picture with Maridna, though he still didn’t know her name. Quickly while her crew climbed the stairs Jake added, “I’m going to write down about today to remember it as well, but I don’t know your names!”   
Halessi was the one to answer him after she laughed,  
“How rude of us! I’m Halessi, the one who can’t aim is Maridna, and the two who didn’t play were Jerphis and Rygisaa. It was good to meet you, Jake!”  
The geyser was a natural wonder to see for Maridna and the four of them egged each other on to see how close they were willing to get to the hot water. At the end, Quark had to knock on the door loudly that their time was over.  
It was almost dinner time.


	4. A New Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dinner plans have changed slightly.

“So you didn’t even know their names until they left you?” Garak chuckled.  
“I’m not a spy,” Jake retorted, “And I wasn’t trying to get information, I was just having fun. She’s nice, dad, I don’t think she’s part of the Dominion or a bad person. If she’s a criminal, it was something like, like, how on Earth it used to be against the law to help slaves escape.”  
“I agree with Jake, Commander,” Quark added, “This Boslic crew, they smuggle, but they don’t hurt anyone. They’re good people, they’d be the sort to help her if she was wanted for something like helping escaped slaves.”  
“They are smugglers, need I remind us, and they’re part of a guild that does hurt people,” Odo was getting annoyed. Jake and Quark were easily swayed because they were “nice”, but the Dominion can easily put up a farce such as this, “The Dominion and my people are easily capable of deception. Do not let your personal affection for them cloud your judgement so quickly!”  
“This is why I insisted on Garak attending this dinner. If there’s anyone on the station who can tell when someone is lying it’s my love,” Julian returned to Garak’s side with two glasses of non-replicated kanar.  
“If my input and experience are valued here, I would have our Chief of Security be unavailable for this delightful party this evening. He is, after all, the officer our newest guest shies from most vehemently.”  
“...Commander, Mr. Garak’s suggestion makes sense. I would like to take this course of action,” Odo said. Benjamin thought for a second before saying ‘Go’. Odo nodded and left the room quickly to continue his investigation.  
“I believe you now, my beloved doctor,” Garak whispered to Julian, who had been trying to convince his partner that his friends valued him.  
The door for the dining room beeped before opening again to let in Worf and Jadzia. It was getting close to the arranged time and the missing people were Kira and the O’Briens. Benjamin tapped the table impatiently. The door beeped again, but instead of the last DS9 guests arriving, it was the captain of the Boslic vessel. Garak retracted his arm from around Julian’s waist subconsciously because he was slipping back into his secret operative mindset. Far from being upset, Julian’s eyes were fixed on how serious his partner was. Benjamin Sisko walked around the table to shake the captain’s hand immediately.  
“I came first to say that my crew and I do not pack for dinner invitations. We will be dressed as best we can be. They will arrive soon, they were late in returning to the ship. A game of darts and holosuite sightseeing took more time than allotted,” the captain said, he spoke of darts while making eye-contact with Jake Sisko. He returned to facing the Commander with narrowed suspicion. Jake stepped forward, his father motioned for him to just be quiet, but the Captain turned to face Jake full-on, and Jake began,  
“No dad, let me talk. I’m sorry I made them late, I didn’t know we were having this dinner and I definitely didn’t know your crew were coming. I was working in my quarters all day.”  
Jake was honest and it showed. The Boslic Captain looked around the room and seemed halfway convinced by Jake’s apology. The captain walked to the un-replicated beverages available to peruse his options while speaking, not quite as severely as he was before Jake’s apology,  
“Commander, you surely see how it seems suspect that your son happened to be the humanoid who my crew was approached by, don’t you?”  
“I do, Captain,” Benjamin agreed, “And if I were in your shoes, I would be suspicious of that as well. As for the clothing, we expected such and don’t wish to embarrass your crew.”  
“Well, as foolish as this is, I believe your son,” the captain turned around with a glass of bloodwine, “So may I ask what’s on the menu for tonight?”

Odo took a round-about way to docking port 7 as the four Boslic crewmates bumped into Chief O’Brien and Keiko in the corridor.


	5. A New Wrinkle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dinner hasn't even begun, but things aren't going exactly smoothly.

Ryjisaa was still tipsy, but he wouldn’t be excused from the dinner for this. That would mean getting in trouble with their captain. Halessi and Jerphis had consumed less alcohol and were able to filter it all out of their bodies easily. While it was Ryj’s own fault, none of the other crew members sold him out to the captain. They had all decided to come late together in his defense.  
Maridna followed behind them, on edge and wishing for something to take the edge off of her nerves. The station’s authorities were going to be in that room, the people who enforce the law. Her thoughts consumed her. They were walking down the corridor to the dining room as a group still, wearing their more presentable clothing. Around the bend, Ryjissa walked in front and bumped right into another humanoid because of his reaction time.   
“I’m so sorry,” he said a bit too loudly.  
“Pardon our friend, he’s still got alcohol in his system,” Halessi pulled Ryj backwards.  
“I can understand that well enough,” Chief O’Brien replied good-heartedly, “Can’t Boslics force-filter their digestive system or am I mistaken?”  
“We can, it’s just that my cousin drank much more than the rest of us,” Jerphis answered, “My name is Jerphis, it’s nice to meet you.”  
“My name is Miles and this is my wife Keiko,” returned the chief, “We’re a little late because we had to take care of our daughter.”  
“Well, this fits, we’re a little late because we had to take care of him!” Halessi laughed. The rest of the group joined her in a chuckle which helped dispel the tense air. Miles pressed the door button, which was set to use tonight in order to give everyone inside the dining room heads-up. They filed in mixed. A pre-thought notion the O’Briens cooked up. Miles stepped aside for Jerphis to enter before him and Keiko’s goal was to enter with the center of the investigation: Maridna. The sweet woman wasn’t given any hesitation when she let Halessi and Ryjisaa before her. For an engineer and botanist they can work out a good scheme.  
“Your sash is made from beautiful fabric,” Keiko complimented Maridna’s most outstanding piece of clothing.  
“Thank you,” she replied quickly on her way to catch up with her friends. Miles was waiting for Keiko on the other side of the doorframe. His wife continued smiling and shook her head to him. The chief shrugged and the couple moved from where they were standing, revealing Jake to the Boslic crew. Their eyes widened when they saw him at this dinner, which meant he was connected to the authorities on the station.   
Which means he was- but their collective conclusion was interrupted by Jake rushing towards them and in a hushed voice saying,  
“I didn’t know we were having this dinner, my dad and I were going to have dinner together tonight anyways. I didn’t know that you guys told my dad you wanted to be left alone, I was working in my quarters all day. I went to Quark’s to relax and try to have some fun, that’s all, I swear!”   
“Is your dad the Terran that resembles you?” Jerphis asked, standing foremost with his friends. Jake looked at his father and back to his former darts-competitors and struggled to say something. Jerphis demanded again, “Is your father the commander of this station?”  
“Yes, but I really didn’t know!” Jake pleaded.  
Halessi and Maridna walked away quickly around the back of Jerphis with Ryjisaa. Jerphis stared at Jake with narrowed eyes and suspicion before catching up to his friends. The dining room continued to chat for a bit before dinner began. Quark was able to integrate himself easily into the crew’s group. Commander Sisko, Kira, and Julian didn’t try to engage them in more dialogue than a friendly greeting because they were well aware that they were perceived threats. Garak whispered in Julian’s ear which elicited Julian quickly saying ‘no’. Garak rolled his eyes and pulled Julian by an arm around his waist and grabbing hold of Julian’s nearer hand with the hand left free. Such was the way that the doctor and tailor approached the four younger traders.  
“My name is Garak and if you will excuse our strange behavior, I was made aware that my dear doctor caused you discomfort when you arrived this morning, and I insist that he apologize again for this,” Garak announced. All eyes looked to the confused Julian who managed to stammer out an apology,  
“I-I’m sorry for this morning...I really am, I didn’t want to bother you again, but Garak, as he said, insisted,” Julian recovered himself well as he continued, “I was only trying to help an injured person, I’m a doctor. You don’t have to worry about me scanning you now, as you can see, my charming partner’s suit has no room for my equipment.” Julian lifted his arms and turned around to show that all the pockets were empty.  
“Such a lovely sash you’re wearing, my dear. The fabric accents your markings well, but I may adjust it, I could show you if you wear it around your waist, it may please you better,” Garak offered, holding his hands out palm up to Maridna.   
“No, no thank you, Mr. Garak,” she took a step backwards into the corner, “I like how I have it.”  
“You look wonderful as it is now, my dear, it would have only been another way to wear it. You have an eye for gorgeous fabric, where did you obtain it?” Garak pushed further.  
“I don’t remember the name of the port. We visited a few planets on the way back and there were so many ports. It was a planet with a lot of water on it,” Mairdna said, looking down at her sash and feeling the fabric. She looked back up and continued, “Is it almost time to sit down now?” She hurriedly added.  
“Was it Leckdal?” Ryjisaa asked, making his crewmates all jump. He stepped forward with a cheerful smile, “The sash was picked up on Leckdal wasn’t it?...”


	6. A New Development

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dinner is going well, but what is going on after??? Whose side are you on, Quark????

“The food is ready if our guests would like to sit down,” Captain Sisko announced.  
Jerphis shoved Ryjisaa forward to the table and the Boslic crew took seats surrounding their captain at one end of the long table, while Captain Sisko headed the other end. Maridna sat next to her captain and Halessi, not giving any of DS9’s officers a chance to speak directly to her. Quark sat next to Halessi and talked to the crew with ease throughout the dinner. Garak had tried to sit next to Ryjisaa, but Jerphis placed him between the captain and himself.  
A veritable wall of silence being between the weakest link and the intelligence operative, Garak gathered what information he could from the short interchanges he could wring from Jerphis and from listening to the conversation across the table from him. The rest of the DS9 officers who quietly talked between themselves flashed glances at Garak and Quark.  
“If we could have snagged the seats next to Halessi, I wouldn’t be wasting time flirting with them,” Keiko grumbled to Miles under her breath.  
“I’m sorry, Quark was surprisingly quick to get the seat,” Miles said between chewing.  
\---dinner continues without anything else to note---  
“This was a pleasant meal, Captain Sisko,” the boslic captain said robotically while he bowed with both arms folded behind his back.   
“I’m glad that you and your crew seemed to enjoy it,” Captain Sisko said while imitating the boslic captain’s bow, “My officers and I truly did not mean to offend your crew. I hope you see that now.”  
“Your word will be proven over the duration of our stay at DS9,” was the monotone reply and the boslic captain gestured to his crew, who were standing with Keiko, Miles, and Quark. Miles was talking about various photography technologies with Maridna, while Jerphis stood next to her as Keiko stood next to her husband. Quark was laying it on thick with Halessi and seemingly succeeding to charm her. Riotous laughter broke out from Halessi and Ryjisaa at a joke he told them. At their captain’s command, the crew extricated themselves from their conversations and followed behind him out the dining hall. Quark happily strolled behind them all and waved to Halessi until her group turned the corner. The Ferengi turned back inside the dining hall, but he stopped short and laughed. He picked up a delivery box and tossed it onto one of the chairs.  
“What is that?” Nerys demanded, irritated.  
“Why, don’t you recognize your own Constable, Major Kira?” Quark chuckled and indeed as soon as Odo knew he was on a chair, he reformed into his usual state, sitting on the chair onto which Quark threw him. People began talking over each other; asking Odo if he found anything and accusing Quark of wasting valuable time.  
“Hold on now, we need to hear what Odo says,” Benjamin boomed over his crew, “Go ahead.”  
“I boarded their ship and I could find nothing enlightening other than the collection of pictures that our suspect has, which I copied onto the filedrive I took with me,” Odo said.  
“We still don’t know if Maridna has done anything wrong, but you keep talking about her like she’s a criminal already,” Jake spoke up because he was so annoyed at the injustice.   
“They are going to great lengths to keep us away from her, which means she has something to hide,” Odo retorted.  
“We’d know more about it if Quark hadn’t wasted the dinner flirting,” Keiko surprised everyone by speaking up and rolling her eyes at Quark.  
“You know, that reminds me. I’ll have to go back to my quarters soon, but while I have the floor, I suppose I should warn you not to talk about this until after I’m gone,” Quark said suspiciously.  
“Why?” Nerys asked dryly because he wouldn’t continue unless someone asked.  
“Well, I have a certain lovely lady awaiting a night of romance with yours truly,” Quark began, but he turned his large ears towards the door and dipped his head into the hallway to look before he leaned back inside and smugly said, “Speak of the devil, here she is,” and he left, pressing the button to close the door quickly behind him.  
Captain Sisko held up a finger to his mouth for everyone to remain quiet and he slowly walked to the door and dipped his head into the hall. He leaned back inside and sighed exasperated,  
“It was Halessi, evidently they agreed she would come back and spend the night.”  
“Good for Quark,” Jadzia murmured. Worf looked at her incredulously to which she shrugged with a smile.   
“Ahem, Garak has information he can also share with the rest of you,” Julian cleared his throat loudly to draw everyone’s attention. He looked up at his lover fondly and nodded for him to begin.  
“As gratifying as it is to know about Quark’s sexual exploits, I would rather have a look at the pictures that Odo copied. The little I could get from Ryjisaa, has made two things certain. One, that Maridna is definitely not Leckdalian or from Leckdalia. Two, that she has the unbending loyalty of our Boslic friends after recently meeting them, including their captain’s.”  
“That still doesn’t mean there’s anything bad about her,” Jake grumbled.   
\----The Next Day----

Garak is walking Julian back to the Infirmary from their daily lunch together. They see the Boslic crew and Quark hurriedly leaving the Infirmary together and reentering his bar across the Promenade. Julian was stopped from speeding up and calling something out to them by Garak covering his mouth and stepping in front of him so his back was to the group.  
“No, don’t call attention to us, my dear,” Garak whispered, “Quark saw us coming and his reaction was to distract his Boslic sleeping partner with a kiss while making eye contact with me, which is much more likely to be an informational sign rather than that of dominant teasing.”  
Julian nodded and calmly pulled down Garak’s hand from his mouth and giggled, “Dominant teasing?”  
“Why yes, I’ll demonstrate during our next thrilling spy adventure in the holosuite if you’d like. I am surprised you aren’t acquainted with the idea in your own species, it is a well-known aspect in Cardassian popular culture displays of mating, that two courters who are otherwise involved make eye contact to demonstrate that they are thinking about one another while otherwise occupied,” Garak coolly explained in a whispered voice.  
“And we’ll demonstrate this, will we?” Julian whispered.  
“No,” Garak corrected sternly, “I will demonstrate if you’d like, but you won’t. You are solely mine, even in the holosuite.”


	7. A New Cache of Data

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garashir do some spy-work with the help of Quark. Garak x Bashir is tied for my favorite couple with Worf x Jadzia. Worf and Jadzia will be bigger parts of this story later.

"What if I want *you* to be *mine*?" Julian whispered against Garak's lips. The young doctor stood on his tip toes to be at an even height with his lover who leaned into his intoxicating body.   
"Every part of me is yours for the taking, my love," Garak whispered in reply against Julian's eager mouth. But Garak's hands that had shifted down to his dear doctor's waist now pushed his doctor back out of his personal space and into reality. They were still in the middle of the Promenade. Garak glanced casually over his shoulder into Quark's bar, " I see no sign of them now, let's discover what Quark might have left us in your sick bay, shall we?"  
"Oh, yes!" Julian was giddy at the prospect of some real life intelligence work. He outpaced Garak in his excitement and began carefully looking on his desk and patient beds for clues.  
"They used this bed and most of my instruments for internal repair, the data logs on the tools are wiped clean," Julian whined.  
"What of the main computer data cache?" Garak suggested. Julian slapped his forehead and bounded to his desk. His fingers danced over the keypads to retrieve the information they were looking for.   
"Ah, here it is! They used my equipment on an unknown humanoid species, Maridna, and her biological data from their usage is all still recorded on my main computer!" Julian turned to share his glee with Garak who was still immersed in thought. He smiled for his partner and stepped cosily behind him to view the computer screen as well.  
"Quark is well aware of this station's systems, he meant to leave us this information. Being a simple tailor, I can understand from this that our delightful visitor was still recovering from being injured badly, but can you expand on my rudimentary understanding?"  
"Oh, of course. So, they used the correct equipment for the intended purposes, which seems above Quark's abilities in the medical field," Dr. Bashir began, "But the Boslic crew had healed her decently before they docked at DS9, so at least one of their crew must be medically experienced. Loose bone fragments, punctured internal organs, moderate brain damage, extensive damage to the left inner ear and eye, twisted ligaments from badly repaired right knee, the list goes on, Garak," Dr. Bashir trailed off. He turned to look into Elim's eyes, his own brown eyes full of sadness. He tucked his head under Garak's chin against his chest and wrapped his arms around the huggable, broad chest, "These injuries far surpass what I expected, the excrutiating physical pain she must have been in."  
"Focus. What else can we learn about her? Are there any clues for where she's from? Does a portion of her DNA match any known species?" Garak reinstigated Julian back to investigating.  
"No genetic links to known species. Her species is built for a climate with seasons slightly colder than Earth, significantly colder than Cardassia. Her species has ankles and knees built for jumping higher and farther than either of us can. She seems not to be able to reproduce?"  
"What?"  
"There's female hormones from internal organs, but no 'set up' for reproducing offspring."  
"What does the...erm...cavity lead to?" Garak asked, quickly pointing between the scan-map's legs.  
"Nothing. It doesn't connect to any system and there isn't any scar tissue," Bashir answered succinctly.  
"Could a skilled surgeon with advanced technology leave no scar tissue?"  
"I suppose...," Julian mulled, "Why do you think she had surgery?"  
"I don't suppose she had anything done," Garak corrected while pacing, "If surgery was done, it would be a common strategy of intelligence organizations to sterilize agents. Limit an agent's weakness while simultaneously increasing their loyalty."  
"Hm...well, with this data, Starfleet and Bajor now have records of one individual of an unidentified species and with the coordinates of the photographs Odo copied, our map has expanded!"   
"And we have more very interesting questions to answer about our guest," Garak smiled, "I think I shall pay a visit across the hall."  
"What are we going to do?" Julian hopped up from his desk. Garak turned back to him from gazing across the Promenade into the bar,  
"You'll be backing up this data and sending it to your superior's computer whilst I complete some reconassiance alone."   
"What?" Julian demanded incredulously, he stood up hitting both his hands on his desk, "You always relegate me to the sidelines!"  
"My love, I never wish to upset you," Garak approached his partner and tried to tenderly stroke the side of his face with a scaled hand, but Julian swatted it aside.  
"No, I will complete some reconassiance while you back and send the data!" Julian huffed past the elder, professional spy. He pushed the button for his sickbay door on his way out, so that the doors slid shut in Garak's face behind Julian.  
Always underestimated by his lover, always infantalized, Julian fumed. He'd done more difficult missions in the holosuite, more delicate and far more dangerous.  
The doctor stopped when he entered the bar. He hadn't thought of a plan. His blood boiled again at the thought of Garak watching him from sickbay, so he sauntered to the bar and ordered a drink to cover his obvious loss for action and think of one. Quark was playing darts with the Boslic crew, evidently they enjoyed the earth game Jake introduced to them. A smile curled Julian's mouth.  
He carried his drink to their group and waved. The fun and chatter died, all of them looked at him as a distrustful enemy agent.  
"Please don't stop on my account, in fact I had hoped to join you. You see, myself and Mr. O'Brien put up that dartboard," Julian closed the distance.  
"We didn't know it was yours, here you can play," Jerphis quickly retorted. He took the darts from Halessi's hands and held them out to Julian. Julian looked upset for a moment while he set his drink down on the table next to the dartboard area. He unpinned his comm badge with a sad smile and held it out to Jerphis in his open palm.  
"Its really a group game and I came to unwind. I'll trade you if you'll stay and play with me," Julian offered, uncertain if his display of trustworthiness would work.   
"Oh, let's let him join us! Quark is part of our little gang now," Halessi shouted, she was tipsy and leaning against Quark. Jerphis looked to Maridna for a sign. She was leaning against the wall with Rhyjisaa waiting for their respective turns. She made eye contact with Julian and he looked at her worried face and remembered the scans on his computer. The head trauma especially came to mind when he looked at her eyes. He mustered up a smile, but it turned out to be a sad smile. Apparently, that helped his chances.  
"Yeah, he can play with us," she said softly. Jerphis switched the darts for his comm badge, putting it on the table where Julian could easily retreive it, but clearly wasn't meant to wear it as usual during their game.   
"Oh, but I believe it was Halessi's turn?" Julian handed the darts back to the cheerful woman. She bowed as her captain did after the dinner and aimed as carefully as she could under the influence. Quark held his hands on her hips, and turned to look at the station doctor questioningly. Julian raised his glass to Quark and sipped.  
He let several rounds of the game pass before moving closer to Maridna. When Quark went behind the bar to retrieve replenishing drink, Julian leaned over it to reach for a cloth napkin and also to whisper to Quark an order.  
"Give them something a little stronger, eh?"   
His voice was barely audible, but he knew the Ferengi heard him. The doctor turned around and joined in cheering for Rhyjisaa's bull's-eye. Quark returned to the table with the bottle already opened. Before it was the doctor's turn again, the Boslic crew were having a difficult time remaining on their feet.  
"Oh my, it looks as if you all might need to force-filter the alcohol?" Julian feigned innocence. Quark was supporting much of Halessi's weight against his lap from his seat on the high bar table chair.  
"Y-yes, I didn't think I d-drank as much, darling. We'll be right bahhck," Jerphis said to Maridna, amusingly drawling out 'back' at the end. Maridna held her head with both her hands, now facing the wall while leaning against it. Bashir cautiously approached her as one might a scared animal. He put a hand on her shoulder.  
"I'm guessing Leckdalians can't force-filter?" he said quietly, feeling her forehead. She turned to him and he exclaimed 'oh no' and fetched their ice bucket in time for her to vomit into it.  
"No, I can't," she moaned.  
"Let me help you to a booth. You might fall off a tall chair," Bashir gently guided her with him. She followed his directions without any apprehension. He sat her down in the booth and scooched in next to her. She put her head on her arms on the table and groaned.  
"Gods, I hate alcohol, I thought Quark said my Vulcan drink didn't have any."  
"Perhaps yours was mixed-up with someone else's, after all, Quark's is busy tonight. What did you order?" Julian comforted while rubbing her back slightly.  
"I don't remember," was Maridna's muffled reply, "My head is pounding like a pulse-motor."  
"I shouldn't wonder, only a few hours ago you were suffering from quite a bad case of brain damage," Bashir said quietly, eyes trained on her hair for her reaction. Her body stiffened under his hand.   
"I...I-I don't know w-what you're talking about," Maridna stuttered, she didn't look at him. She started shaking and Julian wondered if it'd calm her if he recontinued patting her back. He slowly started moving his hand again and she did stop shaking as much. Julian smiled, knowing that physically comforting her worked. He tucked some new braided cloth that was tied into her hair behind her ear and then continued rubbing her back.  
"I became a doctor to help people, I just want to help you be safe," Julian whispered. Her body untensed. He thought to try a diversion before attempting to get real answers.  
"I noticed that Jerphis seems to be an authority, did he hurt you that badly?"  
"No!" Maridna answered, head still buried face-down in her arms.  
"Has he hurt you less?"  
"No, he'd NEVER," her head whipped up. Tears were trickling angrily from her eyes, but soon her face was buried in her arms again. Julian pressed his luck and moved closer to her in the booth. Their sides made contact and she flinched, but Bashir was fairly certain she was putty in his hands in this state as long as he didn't spook her badly. While continuing to rub her back, he gently pushed his other hand to feel her forehead. His body was turned towards her as he sat now.  
"I...as a doctor...Maridna, I've only seen injuries like yours after battles," he whispered, "Please tell me if the people you're travelling with are hurting you."  
"They're not-its not-they helped me get away from it," she choked out against his chest. She had fallen into his arms for a hug and now cried against his uniform. Bashir petted her hair and gave her a squeeze, following his prescription of physical comfort. She responded by slowly ceasing to cry, but she still held onto his midsection in a hug.  
"Does anything hurt still? If your body is still injured, I can heal the rest, Maridna...Maridna?" Bashir tilted her face upwards to learn she fell asleep. He chuckled and waited for the Boslics to vacate the bathroom. Halessi came out first, but her attention was concerned entirely with bestowing upon Quark more kisses. The two male Boslics walked out together and saw Bashir sitting with Maridna fairly curled in his lap. He waved them over to dispell distrust, but it did little.  
"What the hell-"  
"She fell asleep!"  
"Why are you taking advantage-"  
"Would you rather I let her fall to the floor?!" Bashir retorted, "Its better a doctor waited with her anyhow!"  
The 3 of them argued loudly, the two Boslics red with anger, Bashir beginning to get nervous.  
"Look, guys, the doctor's already happily taken, even if Halessi fell asleep like that I wouldn't bat an eye at him. Dr. Bashir, just take your comm badge back and go," Quark pushed between the cluster and helped Julian extricate himself from the situation. After he handed off Maridna's limp body to her crewmates and awkwardly shimmied out of the other side of the circular booth, he added,  
"Just make sure she drinks water when she wakes up, okay? She threw up before she fell asleep."  
"Thanks," Halessi answered.  
Julian returned to sickbay several hours after he left, but even so, it surprised him that Garak had left. On his desk a tablet was on and a note left saying that there was a meeting in Captain Sisko's office.  
Oh wonderful, Julian thought, would he be reprimanded for being late or going ahead with investigating on his own?  
When he left sickbay for the lift, Rhyjisaa was carrying Maridna out of Quark's with Halessi in tow and Jerphis at his side petting Maridna's head. Rhyjisaa saw Dr. Bashir first and moved his hand under her knees in a sort-of wave. Jerphis looked over and scowled. Halessi was blowing kisses to Quark and missed the doctor before he entered the lift.


	8. A New Cache of Data: Part Two

The blank space riding the lift afforded Julian time to reflect. He had been extraordinarily successful. Imagining Garak's reaction to his success was a joy. He doubted Garak would so easily brush aside his skill now. The fabric of his starfleet uniform wicked away his sweat that had gathered during his mission so quickly that by the time he exited the lift and checked his reflection in the polished metal of a communications console there was no damp areas left. The lift returned to the Promenade, which Dr. Bashir took no note of as he walked away up to Captain Sisko's office.  
All executive officers, Garak, and Jake were assembled before the Dr. joined them. Jake was under strict instructions not to interrupt the meeting unless he had additional information he remembered. Captain Sisko fiddled with the display on his desk before reliquishing control to Chief O'Brien. Odo and Kira sat across from one another, Odo blushing and avoiding making eye contact to remain professional. Jadzia smiled because of her friends' amusing relationship and whispered something to Kira. Worf stood behind Jadzia, nudging her to regain her cool composure, although no one minded. Chief O'Brien sat on the other side of Sisko from Jake, to help him use the display. Garak sat at the head of the table with an empty chair beside him for Julian to take. Captain Sisko resumed catching his baseball and nodded when Dr. Bashir entered the room.  
"Quark is on his way up now, we'll wait for his arrival before beginning. I don't want to waste time repeating ourselves," Sisko announced to the room.  
The lift arrived carrying Quark. He bounced up the steps to Captain Sisko's office and joined them smiling, but not bragging about his night with Halessi as he might usually would.  
"Chief O'Brien, bring up the earliest photo from the Boslic traders' camera," Sisko ordered. Miles tapped two buttons and the display showed a photo taken of the view from one of the cargo ship's windows. A reflection in the glass vaguely showed Rhyjisaa holding the camera.  
"From what I can see, I don't see anything particularly valuable in this photograph, do you Odo?" Sisko asked.  
"No, Sir, other than that this was 3 and a half months ago and this is the first," Odo answered cross-armed.  
"Okay, next," Sisko said to Miles. A picture of a space port above a light grey planet, Boslic owned, inside the Gamma quadrant. Window frame again in view. Again, the reflection showed Rhyjisaa.   
"Anything here?"  
"No, sir. Just building a timeline and map. This port is on the other side of the wormhole. They most likely just entered the Gamma Quadrant," Odo answered. Sisko turned to Miles and nodded. The next picture was on a planetary body's surface. The ship was landed in a small town, the flat rooftops were the focus, leading down to a ravine with gas at the bottom. Pipes led out of the ravine.   
"Odo?"  
"No, Sir. Only added this location to the map."  
The next picture showed a network of landing platforms over a green body of liquid, steps led into the liquid and a lift that carried cargo barrels to the ship platforms. Robots were on the platform with the Boslic crew and other traders. Next showed a smoky room with Jerphis as the focus, dealing out odd shaped objects with his hand not holding cards. The next photo showed a view of a very cloudy green and red planet from the ship window again. Rhyjisaa again being the photographer. At this, Odo said,  
"This is Maridna's home planet."  
"How do you know?"  
"Go to the next picture, Chief O'Brien," Odo said ominously. He enjoyed being the one with answers. The next picture showed a ship port on the surface, much busier, much more advanced. It looked like something you could find on earth. Many people crowded the port, many looked like Maridna. Their skin tones varied from slightly darker than Maridna's to much whiter. What humans might call albino. The boslic captain was in the distance of the photo at a small building which seemed to exchange currency for something necessary. DS9's officers studied this photograph. Jake leaned forward squinting.  
"I already had the computer compare security camera footage of Maridna's face and back to every unobscured face and back. She's not there yet," Odo said to Jake. Jake sat back and asked,  
"So when does she show up?"  
"Soon," Odo said, taunting.  
The next picture showed a tourist-trap shop's display window full of geological samples, food, clothing, and plant samples. The photograph after showed a botanical garden in the foreground and an extremely large building behind it. The building behind had large letters set into the construction of it in comparison to the shop signage in the previous picture.  
"Keiko would love to see these plants," Miles said quietly before changing to the next image. Rhyjisaa, Jerphis, and Halessi posed at the feet of sculpted creatures by the entryway of the building from the pictute before.  
"Is this Maridna taking the picture?" Jadzia excitedly asked.  
"I doubt it," Odo said solemnly, again not expounding on what he knew.  
"I wish you would stop that," Quark grumbled at Odo. Odo smirked. The next picture was in a dense fog, 2 beams of light out of frame shone through the fog farther than otherwise without them. Jerphis' profile was in view, holding a phaser-like handheld flashlight, though much stronger.  
"This next one is where we see Maridna come into play," Odo announced. As he forewarned, in the next photo, in one beam through the fog was an older man, badly injured, dragging an unconscious Maridna with him through the fog. Her hair was visible and one leg bent badly at the knee, so that it was within sight unlike her other leg. Garak reached for Julian's hand because they knew her medical history. Garak supposed correctly that his doctor needed support, Julian's stomach turned. Quark looked perturbed as well. Jake's mouth fell open and he was shocked.   
"What...can you tell us about this picture?" Captain Sisko slowly said.  
"Ahem. Well, there is an unknown older male of her species dragging her through this dense fog which seems to be an expected phenomenon because the Boslic crew carried specialized lights. As you can see, the older man is also injured. It looks to me as if something went wrong and they're running," Odo summarized, "There's no reason for us all to continue looking, we can move on."  
"Do you know how badly she was hurt, Dr. Bashir?" Jake asked quietly. Julian looked up from his hands sadly, but Sisko cleared his throat loudly.  
"We are going to go through all our new information in an organized way, so we don't forget anything," their captain boomed, "Chief O'Brien, show the next picture."  
Maridna was in a bunk sleeping, bandaged with Halessi using first aid equipment to mend her. The captain was within the frame, he pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers releasing stress as Boslic pressure points, like humans', allows through this action. Maridna's face was within view now, her scalp bloodied and split on the left side. Her left eye was blackish red entirely and the skin around it puffed. Her chest uncovered to reveal widespread bruising and internal bleeding. Odo remained coldly professional as he used to during Cardassian occupation to be able to continue doing his job. Miles looked away and stifled a retching sound. Kira didn't look away, her time as a rebel fighter desensitizing her to this level of injury. Jadzia and Worf looked at it sadly.  
"Whoever attacked them did not care for her survival," Odo stated, "We can go to the next picture."  
The next picture showed Maridna awake lying down. Jerphis held her face in both his hands and was talking. Maridna was sobbing. Both her eyes widely opened, her blackish red eye was noticeably enlarged in its socket. Odo said 'the next picture' and Maridna was making a face trying to drink some Boslic wine with Halessi. The next image was a selfie with Rhyjisaa, Maridna held the camera. She smiled with him despite the grotesque injury.  
"From now on the camera is in Maridna's posession," Odo said. The images went by faster now as Maridna took pictures of many thing around the cargo ship and out the windows. Each selfie with her new captain and crewmates showed improvement and slowly she looked healthy from the outside. The port after her planet was reached, the crew followed the captain into the black market of a fair city. Maridna took pictures from beneath her vest. They followed their captain into a large circular tent. The occupants of the tent were an insectoid species. The next image was an incomprehensible blur, and the next had a thumb partially blocking the frame, but showed Maridna punching an insectoid in the face, sending it sprawling. The whole of the insectoid crowd blurred because they were moving in, the Boslic captain holding his bleeding nose behind Maridna.  
"A deal seems to have not gone their way," Odo shrugged, "And we might be seeing a clue to Maridna's past life. Why she was beaten. Why we should be suspicious of her."  
The next picture was from Rhyjisaa again, he took a snapshot of them running onto their ship. Insectoids were chasing them in the background. Maridna's face was set and with a freshly broken nose, the look in her eyes was dark. Back on the ship Maridna took a photo of the Boslics getting drunk together after the fight. From there the traders visited on last port where Maridna took pictures of food and of a vendor selling clothing, where scarves such as the one she wore to the dinner hung on display. Odo smiled grimly, unrefutable proof that they lied. Chief O'Brien turned off the display.  
"Okay. With that information, Garak informed me that Quark and Dr. Bashir have more to share, which of you wants to go first?"  
"It makes sense for me to begin because my story leads into the doctor's," Quark volunteered, "Last night, when I was with Halessi, I found out Maridna was still internally injured. Hal only said she was injured when dealers tried to backstab their captain, which lines up with the pictures. Hal actually got a little internally injured last night cause we weren't as careful as we should have been with our...comparative biology. She said it was nothing compared to Maridna's pain. I said I could sneak them into the sickbay to finish healing her. Halessi didn't trust me at first, but I assured her by showing her my record on this station. What can I say, women like bad boys!"  
"Is that all, Quark?" Odo demanded.  
"Yeah actually, Dr. Bashir picks it up from here," Quark gave the floor to Julian. Julian recounted his data from sickbay and his reconaissance mission. Everyone was suitably impressed and astonished with his story. What slightly annoyed the young man, was that there was no outward sign of Garak's under-appreciation being proven wrong; Garak beamed with pride for him. He wished he could have looked even a little surprised in front of everyone.  
"I held her crying, her foremost emotions were always fear and sadness. The pictures of her at the insectoid market look like an entirely different person," Julian ended.  
"Quark heavily intoxicated her at your request," Odo argued, "That's not a state to measure someone in."  
"When one's inhibitions are gone, that's the perfect time to judge them," Julian retorted.  
"Oh gosh, I hope you don't judge me by when we're fighting in the holosuite then," Miles chuckled.  
"We've collected more questions than answers from all of this," Sisko said. He was meditating on his baseball.  
"On the contrary, we've answered several important questions. Is Maridna Leckdalian? No. When Rhyjisaa attended the dinner tipsy, he said that Maridna's scarf came from Leckdalia before his compatriates could stop him. Yet, none of them corrected him. The pictures show the scarf's origin as separate from Maridna's planet. Her biology seems to have been altered in the fashion of highly organizes criminal organizations. I fear the station's Chief of Security has been correct all along. She may have won you over my dear," Garak turned to Julian when addressing him, "but don't let your keen mind be blinded. Jake, I regard you as a clever boy as well. Its likely she is part of the Dominion."   
"We aren't certain yet," Jadzia spoke up. Captain Sisko sighed and walked to the window,  
"Odo, take her into custody."


	9. Another Visit

It had been half a year since the Boslic trading ship docked at DS9. From Quark's, the crew returned to their ship and relayed the events to their captain who, on suspicion, correctly attributed Julian's action to an ongoing investigation against his ship. When Odo arrived at their airlock of the docking ring, the captain refused to let him aboard his ship. The operations room alarm blared to alert DS9 that a ship had its thrusters engaged in an attempt to pull away from the station before it was released. In danger of blowing up the entire half of the station, Captain Sisko's diplomacy proved inconsequential.  
DS9 let the ship go, alerting Federation high command and the Bajoran government that a Dominion operative was freely travelling.   
Word arrived slowly through Federation command that the Boslic government gave Maridna citizenship and claimed custody of her. As surprising as the developement was, the mystery deepened. The Boslic trading guild threatened to use Romulan stations and ports instead of Bajoran ones if their crews could expect to be "harassed" at every stop. The Bajoran government officially apologized and reprimanded Captain Sisko. The executive officers of DS9 slowly assumed that this strange misadventure would gather dust undisturbed.   
Then this morning, they answered a hail from a larger Boslic ship. The high captain answered, beside him was the very same captain that carried Maridna through the wormhole on his own ship.  
"Hello again," Benjamin said guarded, "Here for a pit stop?"  
The high captain answered, "Yes, Captain Sisko. Before we cross into the Gamma Quadrant we're stocking up on fuel and one of my officers is going to rest on your station for the two weeks we're abroad. My security officer. That is, if you have room."  
Benjamin raised his eyebrows, "Yes, we have room."   
"Good."  
The frequency was ended and the ship docked with the station.  
"What do you suppose is in store for us this time, old man?" Benjamin asked Jadzia.  
"Careful, Ben. We can't give the Boslics any reason to find fault with us this time," she cautioned.  
"If they want trouble, they'll make it themselves," Major Kira rolled her eyes.  
"Yes, but Jadzia is right. We must not let them goad us into it," Worf said.

On the docking ring, Maridna stepped out of the airlock carrying a duffelbag of her belongings slung onto her back. A crumpled note in Halessi's handwriting was in her hand. A female Boslic stepped off behind her and put her arm around her shoulders.  
"Try to cheer up, at least you were able to avoid going back into the Gamma Quadrant. And you won't be with High Captain Faej here," the new Boslic said.  
"You don't understand. I barely escaped this place the last time and now I'll be here alone?" Maridna threw her hands up.  
"You won't be alone, if Halessi is right, Quark will help you. I'm looking forward to him," her companion excitedly gushed at the end.  
"I know you are, Drojne, you haven't talked of anything else for days!" Maridna laughed. They walked to Quark's and sat down at his bar. Maridna asked a waiter specifically for Quark. She told him to give him the message that Halessi was here. Quark was quickly at the bar to see her, but disappointedly only recognized Maridna.  
"I'm surprised to see you here again, I'd have thought you'd never return," Quark said, "So I take it Halessi isn't here at all?"  
"No, but she gave me a note to give you and one other thing," Maridna answered sheepishly. Quark took the note and read it. He was smiling again when he asked,  
"I take it your beautiful friend here is Drojne?"  
"I am, and Hal's descriptions of you do not disappoint, Mr. Quark," Drojne crooned.   
"Should I wait at a back table?" Maridna quickly interjected. Quark and Drojne were looking hungrily at each other over the counter.  
"Yeah, yeah, sounds good," Quark said. He turned temporary responsibility of the bar over to his head waiter and left for his quarters with Drojne. Maridna found a table behind decorations on the second floor of the bar. She rested her head and arms comfortably on her duffel bag and napped.  
Her communication device's alarm buzzing in her duffel startled her awake. The cargo ship was leaving in 1 minute. Drojne would be getting dressed and leaving Quark's quarters to return on board and Quark would hopefully be heading back here. Anxiety filled her while waiting even though she knew she was well-hidden.  
Quark jogged back to his establishment and looked to the back tables. When he failed to see Maridna, he shrugged and started walking back to count the latinum when he slapped his forehead and looked upstairs from where he was now. They made eye contact, Maridna was waiting for him to see her, but didn't draw attention to herself. Quark waved and grabbed two glasses and a pitcher of iced water.  
"A pint of bloodwine, Quark," the voice of a half-klingon engineer ensign interrupted him.   
"Okay, sure T'rure," Quark said, putting down his handfuls and getting the customer his drink. In the 6 months that passed, federation ensigns moved up and onward away from DS9 and were replaced by bright-eyes new recruits, this recruit being a half-human, half-klingonc young man. T'rure of the house of Tatell was raised in a Federation colony near Klingon space. His Klingon mother and Federation officer father taught him a balance of his cultures, which Worf and T'rure spent hours together endlessly discussing. His anger was kept in check through strenuous exercise, something his father did with him as his father had a temper as well. Klingon service wasn't an option for T'rure as he was half-human and was made unwelcome. He joined the Federation and at the academy found that he was apt for engineering. Being several years older than Nog, they met briefly at academy, as unlikely species in the same place often do, and Nog told him about DS9. When he graduated, T'rure opted for service at DS9. He got into a few fights with travelling Klingons who ported at the station and spent the night in a holding cell as punishment.  
Overall, Quark found him a fine young ensign who told him his nephew was an excellent cadet and person.  
Quark pushed the bloodwine in front of T'rure, picked up the water and glasses, and went upstairs. T'rure noticed that Quark seemed preoccupied when he was served and being a curious young man, he turned to see where his bartender was headed. Quark was pouring the water for Maridna and sat down with her. T'rure was transfixed on the entirely new species. Above him, Quark was laying out the plan.  
"Drojne told me your predicament, I have a solid plan for the next two weeks. You'll have to stay in my quarters most of the time though, its the best I could think of," he began to explain. Maridna assented readily to the term and listened, "My quarters are with other residents, not federation officers, so I can sneak you into exercise rooms easily when no one is in one. But other than exercise rooms to get out pent up energy, you'll have to stay in my quarters with or without me."  
"Aye aye, Sir," Maridna saluted him as a joke. Quark smiled and drank some water, "Drojne put you through exercises?" Maridna suddenly asked. Quark choked on some water.  
"And here I remember you being a sweet, niave thing!" he laughed with her, "But why am I surprised you've changed a bit, you've got more piercings than a priestess and is that ink I see under your collar?"  
"Hello, I am T'rure, House of Tatell. May I ask who you are? I've never seen your species before," T'rure spooked the pair by accidentally sneaking up behind them. Maridna froze, but Quark held the hand around her glass and used his quick wits.  
"This is Drojne, she's a Boslic friend of a Boslic friend. Her cargo ship is leaving soon though, isn't it?"  
"Ah, it is, thanks handsome! Will you walk with me to the airlock?" Maridna sweetened her voice to mimic Drojne, for Quark's benefit rather than T'rure's.  
"I think I will," Quark chuckled. Maridna got up and swung her duffle over shoulder. She stood several inches over Quark and with her arm up holding her bag, her shirt lifted and T'rure stared at the glimpse skin and muscles he could see between her shirt fabric and the Bajoran-palt overalls. Quark put his hand around her waist and walked with her out of his bar and to the hall that led to the docking ring, or so T'rure thought. Quark and Maridna walked past the docking ring hallway to reach the other lift to the residental quarters.   
"That was close, I wish I could think instead of just freezing up," Maridna whispered.  
"You can thank me later, but I have some things to tell you since we last spoke," Quark whispered back, "Wait until we're in my quarters for the night though."   
Maridna tossed her duffel bag onto Quark's sofa and flopped next to it.  
"Your quarters are nice, I'll try not to bother you," Maridna called to him, Quark had gone into his closet to get more blankets and pillows for her.  
"Thanks, you're getting the couch though, unless you want to sleep together," he winked, "Despite what Halessi might've told you, I'm not a gentleman so don't expect me to give you my bed and my nicest things."  
"Fair's fair, you're already helping me a ton," her gratitude resonated with every word.  
"Alright then, I'm going back to work," Quark clapped his hands and backed towards the door awkwardly, "Help yourself to the replicator and, um, don't leave my rooms. That sounds terrible." Maridna sat up in a flash and made Quark jump.  
"OH! Wait, can I access books or information from your quarters?"  
"Ah, yeah, sure. Let me pull up my tablet to the right browser," he obliged his guest, going to his dresser to get his tablet. He sat down next to her on the couch and handed her the tablet, "You can flip through all these sections, but stay on this screen, okay?"  
"Yeah, I've got it," she said quietly, perusing the screen. Quark slapped his hands on his thighs and stood up. Maridna either ignored him or paid no attention to his awkard departure. He walked back to his bar, T'rure was waiting for him. Quark assured himself that T'rure didn't know enough about the first time Maridna was on DS9 to be suspicious of him. T'rure gossiped about the engineering team for most of the rest of his break while Quark half-listened to him.  
"What, really?" T'rure sounded shocked.  
"What?" Quark asked.  
"You said Drojne will be back sometime."  
"Oh, did I?"  
"You nodded and said yeah."  
"Well, she is, in two weeks. Don't get any ideas in your head, kid," Quark eyed him. Odo walking up to the entry distracted Quark, "What trumped-up charge is it now? I've done nothing!"  
"A meeting including you in operations, come along," Odo grimly said and everything he said was grim anyways, but were Quark and Maridna already caught? Quark gulped and walked silently with Odo to the lift and to Captain Sisko's office. Sisko smiled and stood up behind his desk when they came in.  
"Quark, you look like you've seen a ghost. Did Odo keep you in suspense?" Quark relaxed, thinking he was in the clear.  
"Yeah, he didn't enlighten me."  
"Well, its a simple situation. We were expecting a Boslic trader to stay on the station for two weeks, but none of them checked into a residential quarters. Then, the ensign we sent down there calls in saying *you* were with the Boslic. But *you* went back to your own quarters with her," Captain Sisko paused to stare down Quark, "and then you walked her back to her ship. Explain this," Sisko leaned forward and his voice went into the stern angry dad/ boss voice. Quark remained cool when he knew they just saw him with Drojne, the real Drojne. He took Halessi's note from his breast pocket and handed it to Captain Sisko. The captain read it and was embarassed. He handed it to Odo instead of Quark, who had went to take it back and impatiently waited for the security chief to be done. Odo read the note quickly and scoffed. He handed it back to Quark.  
"Why did their new high captain say she was staying?" Odo asked him.  
"She was nervous to go into the Gamma Quadrant. New and all that to the wormhole. I told her that ships come and go all the time and that she'd regret not going," Quark shrugged, "I'd say it was rather good of me too, when you think of what we could've done in a week." Odo scoffed louder,  
"I do not want to listen to this vulgarity if his answers satisfy you, Captain."  
"You may go, thank you Quark."  
"Your welcome, Captain, I'm happy to serve you at Quark's or anywhere else!" He whistled as he walked back through operations.   
The Ferengi returned to work and by the time his bar closedand he was in his quarters Maridna was asleep on the couch. He patted her head and picked up his tablet on the way to his bedroom. He checked the history on his device. She opened the online encyclopedia first, but then went back to read children's books. She moved up the reading comprehension levels, occasionally opening the encyclopedia again before returning to the children's books. The last time she opened the encyclopedia, she stayed on it. She read the Federation reports on the Boslic government fiasco 6 months ago, she opened the service profiles of Commander Sisko, Chief O'Brien, and Major Kira, read the transcripts of Dr. Bashir's published research papers and Keiko O'Brien's articles on exobotany. Then, she searched "Federation Political Refugees" and clicked on reports where the Federation recently took protection of different peoples. "Federation Policy Foreign Criminal Law" was the last search. The foremost result was the official stance given by the Federation, that they respect foreign governments' systems of justice. Quark sighed. He still didn't know much more than the rest of DS9 about Maridna, only what Halessi told him the night of the dinner.  
She's a criminal to Leckdal and all other Leckdalians for existing, Hal had said laying under him and holding onto his ears.   
It sounded a lot like Dr. Bashir being genetically enhanced.  
I can use that to make Bashir help us if I need it, Quark thought.  
Quark closed the database browser and lazily opened his downloaded Ferengi porn.


End file.
